Speakers That Have Shared Their Knowledge
Below you will find the list of speakers that have generously provided their time to talk at our meetings.
2025
Monday, March 10
George Daniel—Top & Bottom Techniques
George Daniel gave a great Zoom talk. He talked about how to set up a mono rig for "tight-line nymphing". He also discussed various techniques to use in different types of water. He also talked about his approach to flies, which are "minimalist and slender" because the mono rig he utilizes is so thin, even a lightly weighted slender fly will get down to the fish.
Monday, February 10
Dusty Wissmath Fly Fishing—Fly Fishing the Yellowstone Ecosystem
Dusty Wissmath took us on a tour of famous and not-so-famous fly fishing spots in southwestern Montana, northeastern Idaho, and Yellowstone National Park. He discussed conservation issues, fishing techniques, where to go, and how to avoid the crowds (and bears). Many people think that the best fishing days are in the Rocky Mountain West. This show will prove that feeling is far from the truth. Because of the efforts of individuals, agencies, and states, in many places, it is better than it has been since Lewis and Clark first explored the area.
2024
Monday, November 18
Jim Irons—Mid Atlantic Council Climate Change Coordinator—The TU Climate Change Working Group and Climate Change Coordinators
Maintaining cold water habitats in a changing world is a hard problem. TU volunteers are trying to meet this challenge. Jim Irons discussed how TU volunteers are approaching this issue through the TU Climate Change Working Group and the TU Climate Change Policy. He talked about the roles the Climate Change Coordinators are developing at the chapter and council levels.
View Jim's presentation [PDF]
Monday, September 9, 2024
Maggie Heumann—TU Manager of Volunteer Operations—Entomology 101 for Anglers
Maggie Heumann was listed as the Director of TU Volunteer Operations. While that is true, her title for the presentation given to SVTU on September 9 should have been the Bug Queen! Maggie has advanced degrees in entomology with a specialty in macroinvertebrates found in water and she knows her stuff!
She took us through the vast world of macroinvertebrates that make up much of the trout food cycle. She had some great pictures so we could see what she was talking about. The linkage between the common names and the scientific presentation was especially helpful. But that link was not as useful as the connections to fishing. The type of trout rise (sip, splash, or aggressive) can tell you what they are feeding on. The never-ending bins of mayfly nymphs at the fly shop can be broken down into a few basic flies that will work across a lot of local bugs, if you know the type of insect you are trying to imitate (crawler, clingers, or swimmer). I know I am going to look at my nymph box a lot differently now.
If you missed this presentation, you missed and great learning opportunity. Fortunately, Maggie has recorded this and it is available on TU's Vimeo page. Here is the link to the Vimeo presentation.
Monday, May 13, 2024
Ben Harris—TU Western MD Initiative Program Manager
On May 13 SVTU members had an opportunity to hear from Ben Harris, TU Western Maryland Initiative Program Manager about the TU Western Maryland Initiative Program. The Program leverages conservation dollars form Federal and regional programs to improve trout habitat in Western Maryland.
Most of the projects to date are focused on farmland and pastureland conservation practices. Exclusion fencing to keep livestock out of the stream while supplying alternative livestock watering locations is focus that produces immediate water quality benefits. Riparian plantings along these same streams shade the water reducing temperatures. Instream activities include log and rock structures to replicate historic pool-to-riffle conditions more closely. Future projects include more of the same, plus reconnection efforts removing barriers to fish passage, and acid mine remediation efforts.
The Program has been working in Western Maryland in the “Potomac Highlands” (Savage and North Branch of the Potomac plus the Casselman) an area designated by TU as “Priority Waters.” (The area was developed by the Mid-Atlantic Council of TU and Seneca Valley contributed to the designation.) Also a Priority water area is the east slope of the Catoctin ridge in Frederick County. There is a project in the planning stage that will be seeking volunteers, most likely in the spring of 2025.
It was an interesting presentation and while much work is needed it was refreshing to see the work in progress and that at least an effort is being made to protect cold water species in Maryland.
Monday, April 8, 2024
Bryan Donoway of Flies in Disguise • Fishing the Gunpowder River
Bryan's gave an outstanding presentation on the Gunpowder River. He talked about the Gunpowder River system including access, the seasons/hatches and the flies that imitate them, and on-stream tactics to make the most of your trip. Bryan will also cover the ever-popular European nymphing techniques including gear, setup, and reading water to catch fish.
Download the presentation here. [PDF 147 mb]
Monday, March 11, 2024
Abraham & Lindsey Beates of South Branch Outfitters • South Branch of the Raritan River Fishing Opportunities
Our March speakers Abraham & Lindsey Beates of South Branch Outfitters in New Jersey gave a great presentation about fishing the Raritan River in New Jersey. They described their stream and provided an overview of how to fish there. They talked about the diverse option of species you can find—from native brook trout, wild brown and rainbow trout, small and largemouth bass, striped bass, northern pike, and musky to name a few. Those who joined, saw the great freshwater fishing options northern NJ has to offer!
You can download the presentation here.
Monday, February 12, 2024
Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions • Euro-Nymphing
Tim gave an outstanding presentation of Euro-nymphing – from the basics to advanced techniques. He talked about how to get started by converting a standard trout rod, say, a 9’ 5 weight into a functional Euro-Nymphing set-up and the multiple steps that can be taken after that to produce an advanced outfit. Tim talked about equipment, flies and on-stream strategies and techniques as well.
Monday, January 22, 2024
Michael Kashiwagi—Presentation on the Beaver Creek Fish Kill Event, August 2023
Michael gave a special presentation on January 22 about the information that MD-DNR has on the fish kill event that happened in August 2023.
Download the file here [PDF]
Monday, January 8, 2024
Steve Culton: The Little Things 1.0
They say that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish. If that’s true, it’s not because those 10% are supernaturally gifted angling demigods. It’s not because they are lucky. It’s because they do a lot of little things that other anglers don’t. When I’m fishing, I am constantly making adjustments and trying new approaches. Making sure my hooks are sharp and there are no knots or issues with my leader. That’s what "The Little Things" is all about—seemingly insignificant practices that can make a big difference in your fishing.
You can learn more at his website—currentstreams.com, or Instagram at stevecoultonflyfishing.
2023
Monday, May 8, 2023
Potomac River Smallmouth Club: The state of the Potomac River Fishery
This was a great presentation by John Lipetz (founder of Fish & Explore), and Jamie Gold who talked about fishing for smallies on the Potomac River. They talked about what kind of gear you needed, as well as different types of useful flies. If you want more information you can download a copy of the presentation at the link below.
Monday, March 13, 2023
Chapter Member's Night
This was a very informative meeting from some of our members who have fished around the USA, as well as the Bahamas. The presenters were:
- Jack Higgins - Wind River Wyoming near Dubois
- Dale Thatcher and Greg Cwalina - Harman's Cabins West Virginia
- Greg Cwalina - Bahamas for Bones
- Noel Gollehon - Conejos River in Southern Colorado
Monday, February 13, 2023
Dale Thatcher, SVTU Member—Fishing Opportunities to fish within a 50 mile radius of Damascus MD
Dale walked us through some of his favorite places to fish in Maryland. This was, as usual a great presentation and all of the maps have been updated with Google Map screenshots for the areas he was discussing.
Monday, January 9, 2023
Steve Moyer, VP for Government Affairs, TU National
After a distinguished career of more than 30 years leading Trout Unlimited’s national conservation policy work, Steve Moyer, Vice President for Government Affairs, will reflect on the successes and future challenges for saving fish and their habitat. From Bristol Bay to the Klamath dams, from the Clean Water Act to the Endangered Species Act, and from the first Bush administration to the Biden administration, Steve has been at the forefront of every major fishery conservation battle and will draw on his experiences to offer a hopeful message for the future of fish conservation.
2022
Monday, November 14 2022
Don Fine, Basics of Building Your Own Fly Rod
Don did an outstanding job of discussing the basic steps for construction of a 'personalized/custom' fly rod, as well as a demonstration and review of the basic components which comprise a standard fly rod. Watch the video of Don's presentation (you will be redirected to Vimeo).
Monday, October 10, 2022
Maggie Heumann, Manager of Volunteer Operations for Trout Unlimited—Trout Unlimited: Who we are, what we do, and how you can help!
Maggie Heumann, the Manager of Volunteer Operations for TU’s National Office gave a presentation about TU—who they are, and what they do. She covered the organization and its structure; the current and future outlook for TU, and our roles as TU members and/or supporters. You can watch the presentation here. Please note you will be redirected to Vimeo to watch.
Monday, September 12, 2022
Tom Martin, Heavy Water Anglers—Streamers & Streamer Fishing
Tom gave an outstanding presentation for those interested in streamer fishing. Tom talked about the types of streamers he uses, how to fish them and equipment needed. It was very in-depth, and had a lot of excellent information.
Monday, April 11, 2022
Matt Sell, Maryland DNR Fisheries Service—Cold-Water Fishing Opportunities in Western Maryland
If you wondered about fishing in Western Maryland and need some information to get started, or if you make the drive out often, this program was for you. Matt talked about some of the many streams in Western Maryland, their species, regulations and access points. There was a great discussion about the North Branch of the Potomac, the Savage (both upstream and downstream of the reservoir), and other streams in Garrett County.
Monday, March 14, 2022
Member's Night
We did our March meeting a bit differently. We asked our members to be our speakers. We had several members sign to share stories about..
- Joe Walther - Fishing on the Juniata
- Doug Hutzell - Steelhead in Lake Erie Tributaries
- Noel Gollehon - Pine Creek with the Feathered Hook Lodge
- Thearin Wendel - Fall Fishing at Steamboat Springs
- Bob Irvin - Octoraro Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Maryland
Monday, January 10, 2022
Tim Flagler—What Trout Eat & What to Feed Them
Tim Flagler provided an excellent presentation to SVTU on January 10, 2022. He provided a presentation on “What Trout Eat & What to Feed Them” that was full of information and really mind-opening videos. He started with a discussion of where trout like to stay and provided video evidence to support the idea that trout are most likely near the bottom. It is one thing to say this and another to watch videos of trout returning to a specific depth. Then the presentation moved into the selection of macroinvertebrates that trout feed on. Each species was accompanied by an amazing video that provided new insight on the materials used for fly tying. Tim discussed caddisflies, stoneflies, mayflies, midges, terrestrials, bait fish, and eggs as a source of trout food. Along with each source, Tim provided some of his favorite fly patterns to simulate each type of food source.
The flies that were included in the presentation are all on Tim’s YouTube channel, and there are playlists there which can help narrow patterns down by category. Here are links to some of the specific patterns that Tim discussed:
This was an outstanding presentation! There was no recording of this presentation made for posting on the SVTU website. If you get a chance to see Tim’s presentation in person… take it in!
2021
Monday, December 13, 2021
Ben John of Beaver Creek Fly Shop—Fishing Erie Steelhead
Ben provided a very informative presentation about fishing Lake Erie Steelhead, especially the streams in Pennsylvania. He fishes there and guides on the PA tributaries making the information both fresh and knowledgeable.
He provided great insight into the right water conditions for successful fishing and where the fish lie in the stream. Anyone that attended the presentation has a new appreciation for where fish might be holding as they move upstream. There were also some great ideas for flies to try in the presentation.
USGS Streamflow Gage Links
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website has descriptions of the Erie streams and an interactive map showing access points. https://www.fishandboat.com/Fish/PennsylvaniaFishes/Pages/Steelhead.aspx.
Monday, November 8, 2021
Noel Gollehon & Doug Hutzell—Tailwater Trifecta
Noel and Doug fished three tailwaters The Holston in Tennessee, the White in Arkansas and the San Juan in New Mexico. Attend the meeting and enjoy the adventure. Get the PDF of the presentation.
Monday, September 13, 2021
Phil Gay of Trout & About, Monkton, Maryland: Gunpowder—Down the river, through the seasons. Some tips and perspectives from years on the river.
Phil Gay of Trout & About gave us a great talk about the Gunpowder's different stretches with some advice on how to fish them throughout the year. He gave us the advantage of his mastery of approach and presentation casting and provide some common sense tips for rigging and fly selection gathered from decades of fishing, guiding, and instruction. Watch Phil's talk on Vimeo.
Trout & About is a fly-fishing instruction, guiding and destination company that offers fly fishing classes and schools, as well as local and out-of-area guiding on selected rivers and destination trout waters. The company was established more than 20 years ago by Phil Gay and Carol Stevenson. Phil is a retired Naval Officer who has been fly fishing since he was ten years old, and Carol has been an avid fly fisherman for twenty-five years.
Trout & About’s guiding is primarily on the Gunpowder River which runs through Phil and Carol’s backyard. Phil guides and runs his classes, including stream schools/classes from his home on the Gunpowder River. He and his wife Carol know the river intimately and are lifelong educators and promoters of fly fishing.
Phil is a Federation of Fly Fishers Master certified instructor and has produced two instructional videos entitled “Practical Fly Casting” and “Presentation Casts for Trout”. He is an international leader in the Fly Fishers International (FFI) Certified Casting Instructor Program as an instructor, mentor for instructor candidates, and emeritus member of the Board of Governors. Phil gives frequent demonstrations on casting at fly shows and workshops, and is a certified examiner for casting instructor certifications. Carol is very active in Chesapeake Women Anglers and Casting for Recovery, a national program to introduce recovery breast cancer patients to the therapeutic values of fly fishing.
More links
- Website: Trout & About
- YouTube: Practical Fly Casting
- YouTube: Presentation Casts for Trout
- PDF: Dry Fly Rigging & Tactics
- Video: Watch Phil's talk on Vimeo
March 8, 2021
Dave Arscott, Executive Director of Stroud Research Center: Watershed Restoration and Whole Farm Stewardship Citizen Science using Open-Source DIY Technologies
Dave gave an interesting presentation about how watershed functions and how Stroud Research interacts with those biological and hydrologic processes. He reminded us all that a watershed is both the water body and the surrounding landscape and to truly address issues in the water you often have to start with the land. He talked about how Stroud is partnering with others on stream restoration, and stream and watershed efforts. In addition, he provided an overview of Stroud's work to enable citizen science by developing open-source water quality monitoring hardware and software interactions.
Download his presentation [32mb]
Watch the edited video of the meeting on Vimeo
February 8, 2021
Matt Lawrence: Benthic Situation for Beaver and Antietam Creek
Matt Lawrence (Natural Resources Biologist, Fishing and Boating Services, MD DNR) presented the results of both the 2020 benthic macroinvertebrate sample collection in the Antietam Creek watershed and the 2020 Beaver Creek electroshocking fish survey. The benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected by volunteers with the Antietam-Conococheague Watershed Alliance (including SVTU members). The discussion included the metrics generated from the benthic data and what the results mean for the targeted streams (Little Antietam, Beaver Creek, and some Beaver Creek tributaries). The 2020 trout survey will present results on current Beaver Creek trout populations and trends.
Download the presentation [6Mb]
January 11, 2021
Joe Walther: Introduction to Fly Tying
Joe gave a very interesting presentation about fly tying. He started with hook anatomy and moved on to the different types of materials needed to tie flies.
2020
December 14, 2020
Noel Gollehon: Fishing on the San Juan River in New Mexico
Let's go on a virtual road trip to an awesome destination! Noel Gollehon did a great presentation on a place that must be on your bucket list of fly fishing destinations. The San Juan River in New Mexico has been described as one of the most famous tailwater trout fisheries in the world. The presentation was based on over 20-years of fishing the San Juan.
Download the presentation [6M]
November 9, 2020
Rob Snowhite: Fishing in and Around DC area
Who knew there were so many places to fish in and around the Washington DC area. Rob Snowhite, the owner and head guide of Fly Fishing Consultant, gave us a great virtual presentation and showed us about places to fish close to our area, which included urban waters. Rob is a proponent of local, urban fishing locations to allow anglers to fish closer to home. Rob thinks anglers should fish more and drive less and explore their local waters.
Rob incorporated Fly Fishing Consultant (FFC) in 2010 to meet the needs of anglers of all skill levels and abilities by offering locally-guided trips in the urban surroundings of the Potomac River. Rob provides expert knowledge and advice to fly anglers in Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, and beyond. Rob offers guided trips by the hour in Northern Virginia and Washington DC for novice and experienced anglers. Inquire about non-fishing nature adventures on foot or in a boat. He is your hands-on fishing coach, specializing in urban and suburban fly fishing for warm water species within the Potomac River watershed.
View the map Rob showed us. (Read the entire article in the Washingtonian magazine.)
October 12, 2020
Meghan Barker: Fishing the Last Frontier: TU's Efforts to Protect Bristol Bay
Meghan Barker, Trout Unlimited's Bristol Bay organizer gave a GREAT, informative presentation about TU's efforts to protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble mine. Meghan talked about fishing in southwest Alaska, the current status of the mine and what's at risk, and what TU has done—and is doing—to stop development of the Pebble Mine in 2020. For more information about the mine, check out www.savebristolbay.org.
September 14, 2020
Mark Frondorf, Shenandoah River Keeper and Fishing Guide: Discusses the state of the Potomac & Shenandoah Rivers—A Guide & Riverkeeper's Perspective
Mark Frondorf gave us an update on the state of the upper Potomac and Shenandoah systems and some of the issues other riverkeepers are dealing with. Mark gave a conservationist/fishing guide perspective on the smallmouth bass issues and prospects. This was a great presentation.
- https://www.potomacriverkeepernetwork.org/riverkeepers/
- https://www.potomacriverkeepernetwork.org/executive-review-2019-mid-atlantic-smallmouth-bass-health-assessment/
View the presentation [6.0 MB]
February 24, 2020
Adam Eshleman, Maryland DNR: Little Seneca: Survey Results and Management of the Resource
This meeting provided an opportunity for Maryland DNR to share the results of the 2019 data collection efforts and provide a forum to discuss the range of management options for the stream. DNRs conclusion was to not revise the regulations to a catch-and-release stream. DNR provided the presentation given at this meeting. See the data for that conclusion in the presentation.
View the presentation [PDF 6.0 MB]
January 27, 2020
Michael Kashiwagi, MDNR: Trout & Coldwater Resources in Frederick County
Michael gave a great presentation about how the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Freshwater Fisheries Service has been working to compile information on coldwater aquatic organisms across the state. Frederick County contains a diverse mix of coldwater resources. The Catoctin Mountains support several high-quality wild trout fisheries. Fishing Creek and Big Hunting Creek have some of the strongest populations in central Maryland. Other small streams contain aquatic insects that are only found in the coldest water conditions. The Freshwater Fisheries Service will provide an overview of coldwater community monitoring and efforts to protect and restore these unique ecosystems.
2019
November 25, 2019
James Harris, Beaver Creek Fly Shop: Nymphing
James gave an outstanding presentation about nymphing. He talked about how to set up different types of lines for different waters. It was a GREAT presentation. Also, James brought some items from his shop for holiday shopping.
September 23, 2019
Art Senkel & Steve Malan, Patapsco Valley TU Members—Finding Coldwater and Trout in Maryland: A Benthic Search
How many times have you driven over a bridge that spans a small stream and thought to yourself—“I wonder if there are any trout in that stream?” And then you think I have never heard about any State fishing or stream protection regulations on streams in this area, so probably no trout. Do not be so sure!
Our September program featured Art Senkel and Steve Malan, Patapsco Valley TU Members, who have identified multiple streams in Harford and Carroll Counties that likely contain wild trout. Art and Steve described the benthic macroinvertebrate-based process they used to identify these streams that are now being considered for additional protection by Maryland Department of the Environment. Whether or not these streams are accessible for fishing—identifying them for protection creates a more resilient resource base.
May 21, 2109
Leroy Hyson—Trout in the Classroom from a Teacher's Perspective
Leroy Hyson, a Science Teacher at Neelsville Middle School gave a great presentation about Trout in the Classroom from a teacher's perspective. He discussed how he gets all his students excited about the program, how he gets the students involved utilizing teamwork. It was nice to hear about how excited the kids get from egg delivery in January to releasing their fish in May. Thank you for showing us how this program works from a teacher's perspective.
April 23, 2019
Greg Cwalina—His Fishing Adventure from Maryland to Montana and Back
Greg Cwalina of Patuxtent River Flies gave a great presentation about his fishing adventure through 12 states, and three time-zones. Greg drove 4,641 miles site seeing and fishing along the way.
March 26
Dale Thatcher—Fishing Opportunities in a 50 Mile Radius of Damascus
Dale, an SVTU board member, gave an excellent presentation about fishing opportunities within a 50 mile radius of Damascus. You can get a copy of his presentation here.
February 26, 2019
Tom Martin—Fishing on the North Branch of the Potomac
Tom Martin of Heavy Water Anglers, a local independent guide talked about fishing on the North Branch of the Potomac River in Western Maryland. He discussed lines, leaders, and flies. It was a great discussion about fishing opportunities, for both floating and wading opportunities.
2018
November 27, 2018
James Harris: All about Fly Lines
James gave a very interesting presentation about fly lines. Who knew there was so much to learn. If you have a need for a new fly line, take your fly rod up to the Beaver Creek Fly shop and try the different lines to see how they work on your fly rod. It does make a difference we learned.
September 24, 2018
Doug Hutzell: Beaver Creek Update
Doug gave a presentation on the impact of past restoration efforts on Beaver Creek. SVTU has been involved in conservation activities on Beaver Creek for more than a decade.
May 22, 2018
Bryan Donaway of "Flys in Disguise": Fishing on the Upper Chesapeake Bay
Bryan gave an outstanding presentation about fishing on the Upper Chesapeake Bay. He discussed places to look for fish, especially striped bass. He also talked about various types of gear and how to build a leader for fishing on the bay. Bryan has over 20 years of fly fishing experience in fresh and saltwater. He is the owner and operator of "Flys in Disguise", providing fly fishing instruction and guided trips on the Gunpowder and Savage river watersheds. When he’s not guiding clients on the rivers, you can find him fishing the upper Chesapeake bay (Gunpowder area) for stripers in the spring and fall.
January 23, 2018
Steve Moulton: Caddisflies 101 for the Fly Fisher
Steve gave an awesome presentation tailored to fly fishers and conservationists featuring information about the diversity, biology, and ecology of Caddisflies. It was most informative and we thank Steve for sharing his time and knowledge about Caddisflies with us.
Caddisflies are one of the most important insect groups known to fly fishers. There are approximately 1,700 species of Caddisflies in North America with the World fauna variously estimated between 10 and 50 thousand species; over 300 species have been documented from MD and VA. Caddisflies play an extremely important role in aquatic ecosystems by processing organic material and serving as a food base for other animals. They occur predominantly in springs, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes throughout the world. However, a few species are terrestrial throughout their entire life cycle and one group inhabits marine waters. Despite occupying a wide range of aquatic habitats, Caddisflies are generally intolerant of poor water quality and stressed environmental conditions. As such they are often used by water resource management agencies as indicators of the aquatic health.
2017
November 28, 2017
Dan Boward, Maryland DNR
Dan gave an really interesting summary of the Maryland Biological Stream Survey Program at our Chapter meeting. The Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS) collects fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, other fauna, land use and water quality information from streams in Maryland to develop a Stream Health Index for both fish and benthics. Since the program began in 1995, there has been a total of 5,833 sites surveyed through 2016. The surveys have found an increase in “good” stream conditions since 1995, with the percentage of stream rated “poor” about the same. There has been a decline in stream rate “fair” over the period. The MBSS is the sponsor of the Maryland Stream Waders Program, a volunteer based stream assessment effort to help educate and enhance stream stewardship. Information about streams sampled, the Stream Waders Program, and the MBSS may be found at http://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/Pages/streamhealth/default.aspx or by contacting Dan directly at Dan.boward@maryland.gov. If you missed this meeting you missed an opportunity to learn about Maryland streams.
September 26, 2017
Dave Cleaves, Retired Climate Change Advisor to the Chief of the US Forest Service
Dave talked with us about the role of outdoor enthusiasts and citizen conservationists in dealing with the changing climate. He talked about how the changes in the climate are affecting outdoor recreation. He discussed how we can become more aware of these changes and build climatic changes into our education, conservation, and advocacy. He discussed how outdoor recreation groups are doing to address and adapt to the changing climate.
Dave has provided an extensive list of sites that deal with this issue. You can get it here, or find it under Quick Links.
March 28, 2017
Alan Heft, Maryland DNR Manager of the Brook Trout Program
Alan Heft, Maryland DNR Manager of the Brook Trout Program gave a very interesting program about the status of Eastern Brook Trout in Maryland and other eastern states and about the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture (EBTJV). The EBTJV is a unique partnership between state and federal agencies, regional and local governments, businesses, conservation organizations, academia, scientific societies, and private citizens working toward protecting, restoring and enhancing brook trout populations and their habitats across their native range. Also in attendance was Nathaniel (Nat) Gillespie from the USDA Forest Service in Washington.
January 24, 2017
Rob Shane, Volunteer Operations Coordinator, National TU
Rob Shane gave an excellent presentation about TU National. He talked about how important volunteers are, and what TU does across the country.
2016
November 22, 2016
Ken Mack, Aquatic Biologist, Montgomery County
Ken gave an outstanding presentation on the streams in Montgomery county. He talked about the health of the streams, and what the county is doing to help mitigate stream impacts from development. He even talked about where there “might” be some trout. Yes, there are trout in Montgomery county!
October 25, 2016
Greg Cwalina of Patuxtent River Flies: Building a bamboo fly rod
Greg gave a wonderful presentation on the steps it took to build a bamboo fly rod from a stalk of bamboo. It takes time and a lot of patience.
September 27, 2016
This meeting was not a meeting with a presentation. Instead, we had burgers and beer at the IWLA lake, and had a chance to catch some fish. It was a lovely evening, and everyone had a great time.
May 24, 2016
Dr. Steve Moulton: Fishing on the Selway River in Idaho and a brief introduction to Caddisflies
Steve gave a great presentation on fishing on the Selway River in Idaho. This is a river that does not see much pressure and it made you want to go schedule a trip. He also gave us a brief introduction to Caddisflies, his speciality. We will have Steve back to give us a more in-depth Caddisfly presentation at a future date.
April 26, 2016
James Harris, Beaver Creek Fly Shop: Fishing in in south-central Pennsylvania
James gave a great talk about the close-by fishing opportunties in Pennsylvania.
March 22, 2016
Dale Thatcher, SVTU: Fishing in Maryland
Dale gave an outstanding presentation on fishing opportunities in Maryland. Maryland has great fishing opportunities, with a lot of small and big streams.
February 23, 2016
Greg Cwalina of Patuxent River Flies: Tying a decorative fly for a display or pin
Greg gave a great presentation on how to tie a classic salmon fly for a display or a pin. It was a great evening to learn something so interesting.
2015
December 1, 2015
John Mullican, DNR Fisheries & Doug Hutzell: Update on Beaver Creek
John Mullican, DNR Fisheries and Doug Hutzell, SVTU member spoke about Beaver Creek Conservation efforts at the November/December SVTU Chapter meeting. John presented findings from the fish population survey that took place this summer. Doug talked about the next project for Beaver Creek.
October 27, 2015
Dave Cleaves: Casting Tips and Training
Dave gave an informational presentation on how to enhance your casting abilities.
September 22, 2015
Jack Higgins: Fishing in Chile
Jack led us through his fly fishing trip in Chile. He talked about the scenery, the roads, the fish and the country.
May 30, 2015
Dr. Steve Moulton: Hands-on stream sampling on Beaver Creek
Dr. Moulton along with DNR helped with a stream sampling on Beaver Creek to identify the macroinvertebrates that live in Beaver Creek. Beaver Creek is a very healthy stream with a lot of different types of bugs.
April 28, 2015
Erin Johnson: Past member of IWLA’s Save Our Stream Monitoring Program
Erin covered the basics of stream monitoring, and explained why macroinvertebrates are excellent indicators of water quality and led participants through multiple macroinvertebrate identification exercises.
January 27, 2015
Jim Greco: Fly Tying Demonstration
Jim demonstrated tying several different types of fly patterns.
2014
November 25, 2014
James Harris, Beaver Creek Fly Shop
Program: What's new in fishing gear
James brought down some of the new items in his fly shop and provided a look and a review of some of the new fly fishing gear available. It was great to see the new gear just before the Holiday's. A great time to finish the Christmas list.
May 28, 2014
Brent Walls, Upper Potomac River Keeper: Conservation Efforts in the Upper Potomac Basin
Brent Walls is responsible for defending the public trust of the rivers and streams in the Upper Potomac by advocating for clean water and ensuring the the virtues of the Clean Water Act are enforced.
April 23, 2014
Josh Henesy (Maryland DNR Inland Fisheries): Washington and Frederick County Streams with Trout
The presentation was arranged by the type of regulation on each stream, and went from put-and-take, to delayed harvest, to catch and release. If you missed this you missed a great presentation on the multitude of places to fish only an hour or less away. He closed with a listing of common hatches in Washington and Fredrick County Streams.
March 26, 2014
Trent Jones (Orvis Bethesda fishing manager): Flyfishing the Tidal Potomac
You will often find Trent plying the Potomac for whatever fish is willing to play, be it catfish, bass, striper or any of the other "critters" he can catch. He is passionate about exploring new fishing experiences and introducing people to the sport he loves.
January 22, 2014
Steve Moulton: Insect Life Cycles and how to fish them.
Steve earned a Ph.D. in aquatic entomology from the University of North Texas and has published numerous research articles on the taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of caddisflies.
2013
December 4, 2013
Wallace, Oaks & Gollehon SVTU members
Three chapter members travel to Alaska to fish for big rainbow trout on the Copper and Kenai rivers. They will discuss what worked, what didn’t and their experiences. Come and learn about the things you need to know before you go to Alaska, such as budget, gear and some nice places to fish.
September 25, 2013
James Harris, Beaver Creek Fly Shop
Fly fishing famous and difficult limestone trout streams in central Pennsylvania with Beaver Creek Fly Shop owner/operator and guide James Harris. Come and hear James reveal locations and keys to success in fishing these gems including Spring Creek, Falling Springs and Big Springs. Fall is a great time to get out and fly fish for trout in these not too far away places.
April 24, 2013
John Mullican, Maryland DNR Fisheries Manager
Flyfishing for Smallmouth Bass on the Monocacy and the Jig
March 27, 2013
Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant
Fly fishing for shad on the Potomac River and other nearby waters
January 23, 2013
William Heresniak, Eastern Trophies Fly Fishing
Fly fishing the North Branch of the Potomac River to get your Maryland Grand Slam
The Seneca Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited (SVTU) is a local voice of National Trout Unlimited.
SVTU is a 501(C)3 organization, so your cash contributions are tax deductible to the level allowed by your tax situation. Direct contributions are always appreciated, and we will occasionally solicit with a direct campaign to fund a special project from time to time. You can easily donate to our chapter, just click the donate button. Thanks!
© Seneca Valley Trout Unlimited, Chapter 369